The moment really hit 40-year-old Danielle Simpson on the dance floor as she pranced about doing disco moves in a donated red, spaghetti-strap gown. “I can’t believe I’m here,” she said. “A lot happened this year, so much. I’m nervous about what comes next. But I feel like now I’m ready. I’m not going back to that old life.” It was the night before her graduation from a six-month course to teach women how to groom dogs — and begin to turn their lives around… read more

Tanisha Davis, her face mostly hidden under a red baseball cap, grips a brush and strokes the coat of a Siberian husky named Smokey. White fur glides to the floor. Littermate Homie waits his turn in a crate in the next room. Across the room, Danielle Simpson works on another dog. The two women would like to open their own business together, prettying animals like Smokey and Homie — using skills they’ve learned over the past six months, in the Grooming Project…read more